SLOW BURN: Clearing Fort Ord

Plumes of orange smoke could be seen from as far away as King City when the Army burned what was supposed to have been just 100 acres of brush at Fort Ord in 1997.

The plan was to torch a small section of vegetation in order to get at unexploded munitions left by generations of soldiers. But the fire, caught by wind, flared out of control.

Residents from Seaside to San Benancio Canyon and beyond said smoke engulfed their homes. Emergency crews reported hearing exploding munitions. When it was over, 700 acres had been scorched.

Memories of that fire — and an equally out-of-control effort in 2003 — have scarred the public's view of the prescribed burns. But the Army, with more burns coming up, says it has learned from its mistakes.

"It's like night and day," said Dan Carpenter, spokesman for the Presidio of Monterey, comparing the program then and now.

For starters, the Army has increased the width of fuel breaks — roads used between areas being burned — by nearly 300 feet. Bill Collins, the man in charge of the burn program, said the issue in 2003 was that a 45-foot fuel break allowed the fire to jump to where it wasn't supposed to be.

Also, the Army has added stringent rules for when it can burn. Ground-level winds cannot exceed 7 mph. The temperature needs to be between 45 and 90 degrees. The sky must be almost completely clear, and the relative humidity should be 20 to 60 percent.

In 2003, a burn could be conducted as long as wind speeds weren't above 12 mph, the temperature wasn't above 95 degrees and humidity was 15 to 35 percent. That provided few opportunities to start the burning. Under the new conditions, the window will be narrower yet, according to the Army.

The Army burns brush at the former base to make it safe for workers to get at unexploded ordnance on the surface or buried. Once the clearing operation is completed, in eight to 10 years, the land will become part of Fort Ord National Monument.

The Army plans to burn 668 acres this year, if weather permits.

The new guidelines might make the public feel safer, but it may also slow how soon the land is turned over to them.

Last year, the Army decided against the burn because weather conditions were never ideal.

Eric Morgan, manager of Fort Ord National Monument, said the new parameters probably will allow burning only six times a year (Collins agrees) and would likely not speed up the timeline for the hand-off.

"I'd rather have them do it right than do it quickly," he said.

Even if the Army hands over the land in 10 years, there will still have to be burns.

Morgan said the former base is covered in vegetation that needs fire to regenerate, such as the Toro manzanita. Roughly 90 percent of the species is at Fort Ord and would be endangered if not for its survival there.

"We're not necessarily required by law to burn," Morgan said, "but it's just a good, conscientious way to manage this type of habitat."

Morgan said burns at the monument would likely not be annual and would be much smaller in scope than the Army's work.

As in previous years, residents can sign up to get alerts about the burn a few days before, when it starts and when it ends.

For the first time, residents can also get alerts via text and Twitter. Email notifications started a few years ago.

The Army has made outreach a large part of the recent efforts.

On Tuesday afternoon, 31 people took a bus tour led by Army community outreach officer Melissa Broadston and sponsored by Sustainable Seaside.

Broadston explained in detail the reasons for the burn, and other cleanup efforts, as the bus driver cruised around hot spots on the former base for an hour and a half.

Participants seemed less concerned about the burns, possibly because of Broadston's presentation or nearly a decade without incident.

"Native Americans used to do it," said Barbara Livingston of Carmel. "It's nothing new."

Steve Eklund of Salinas said he was more concerned about trees being cut down by the proposed Monterey Downs development at Fort Ord.

As an Army reservist in the 1960s, Eklund said he used to "hate" the former base but has learned to appreciate it.